November 9, 2020 at 7:57 a.m.
Team review: RHS volleyball
Hodag spikers try to rebuild amid pandemic
Team review: RHS volleyball
For starters, the Hodags entered the season with their fifth different head coach in the last eight seasons as Jim Povolo was named head coach in early June, replacing Brianna Scheuermann who stepped down after two seasons.
Already pressed for time, Povolo could not put in a typical offseason workout schedule, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The team was unable to participate in summer league play and workouts - once they finally started up in July - were limited to individual drills and were held outdoors for a better part of a month.
"It's much different than what I've ever experienced and probably what anybody's ever experienced," Povolo said back in July.
Even the 2020 season looked different than years past with dual meets only and no non-conference weekend tournaments. That meant a schedule with roughly 25-30 fewer matches than what the Hodags' typically played, limiting the number of reps the squad had on court to learn a new coach and a new system.
The end result for Rhinelander was an 0-10 season and the Hodags' third straight winless campaign within the Great Northern Conference. Over the last three seasons, Rhinelander's volleyball program has a combined record of 2-81.
"It's the toughest thing in the world to keep yourself up when it seems everything is going wrong at once," Povolo said following a straight-set loss at Lakeland Sept. 24. "We, as a coaching staff, we're trying to keep them charged up a bit on the bench but, when it comes down to it, it's got to be the team helping to build the team. We can't force that. I don't know if it's just because of our lack of success of the last few years, but it gets really challenging to keep morale high when we're kind of taking a beat down night after night."
Here are some key storylines from the season.
Close only counts
Rhinelander's closest call of the season came in a non-conference match at Ashland Sept. 29. The Hodags took the first two sets from the Oredockers, but were unable to hang on, falling 23-25, 22-25, 25-15, 25-12, 15-9.
The first two sets of the Ashland match ended up being the only two Rhinelander won all season and they bucked a trend that developed as the season progressed.
Though Rhinelander was 2-30 in total sets won and lost, the Hodags got to 18 points or more on 14 separate occasions. Rhinelander had difficulty translating those close sets into victories.
"I can't help but wonder if it's because we've seen that sort of situation so seldomly that we're not mentally tough to take care of that, to close those things out," Povolo said following a 25-18, 25-23, 25-18 loss to Lakeland Oct. 13. "We get that momentum, we get that ball with an opportunity and then we tend to shoot ourselves in the foot late in those things. All we can do is try to be better."
Pandemic
Though the Hodags did not have any matches canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the end of their season was impacted by the virus.
The Hodags were without a number of rotational players, including starter Ariel Pauer, for the final two games of the regular season due to health concerns. While virtually all of the lineup was back in time for the Hodags' playoff match at Ashland, Povolo and assistant coach Dan Wolter were forced to sit out for health reasons. JV2 coach Zoe Kaputsa led the team in a three-set loss to Ashland while RHS girls' tennis coach Matt Nichols, who was an assistant volleyball coach last season, pinch hit and served as Kaputsa assistant.
As one of only two fall prep sports played indoors, players were required by the conference to wear masks at all times on match night, even during active competition.
Statbook
The Hodags did not have any players finish in the top 10 of any statistical category in the GNC this season.
As a team, the Hodags had a minus-.026 attacking percentage - meaning the team had more attacking errors (78) than kills (69) in league play. Sophomore Ava Lamers was Rhinelander's leader in kills with 19 and the only player on the team who had at least 30 attacks to finish with a positive attacking percentage (.101).
Though the Hodags experimented with a 6-2 formation at times, senior Olivia TerBeest finished as the team's top setter. Her 42 assists were nearly four times more than the next closest on the team in that department.
Senior Hannah Worachek proved to be a do-it-all player for the Hodags, as she led the team in digs (41) and service aces (9) in conference play. Her 11 assists were tied for second on the team and, when the Hodags moved her from libero to outside hitter late in the season due to depth issues, she had five kills on 17 total attacks.
"She is probably one of if not the best athlete on the floor for our team. If she were six inches taller, I really think she'd be all-area and she could do it all," Povolo said of Worachek.
What's next
Worachek and TerBeest will be the most notable names the Hodags will have to replace from this year's squad. The team also loses some depth on the outside graduating Kahlie Arneson and Emily Jorgensen. Arneson and Jorgensen finished with 22 kills between them in conference play, and were two of the four Rhinelander players to finish with double-digit kills on the season.
In Lamers and Pauer, the team will bring back its two top attackers from this season and the team will have some additional height returning with Brynn Brzycki, Allie Dornfeld and Natalie Sundby. Reagan Hartman saw additional time in the back row as the season went on, and donned the libero jersey when Worachek moved to the outside late in the season. The team also hopes junior-to-be Addi DeMeyer continues to develop in the setter's role, after trying out the position for the first time this year.
Though Povolo's first year did not net any wins, he said he is hopefully that the foundation started to be poured for better years ahead.
"This is not going to happen overnight. It's going to be a building process," he said.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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